I think Khabib's chin has been tested against Conor and Poirier. Does Justin get his shots off or does Khabib just tie his legs into knots? Justin has a 80% takedown defense and is the best wrestler Khabib has ever faced. I'm currently looking at it in Khabib's favorite, as I dont think Khabib would have lost to Eddie Alvarez or Dustin, Khabib overall has a better opposition rating while Justin has a higher finish rate. Khabib decision for me, I don't think he subs him, I think he will control him on the cage , get a few snap takedowns , similar to Uzman/Masvidal . Khabib Nurmagomedov ufcstats: CAREER STATISTICS: SLpM: 4.11 Str. Acc.: 49% SApM: 1.65 Str. Def: 67% TD Avg.: 5.35 TD Acc.: 47% TD Def.: 84% Sub. Avg.: 0.7 SLpM - Significant Strikes Landed per Minute Str. Acc. - Significant Striking Accuracy SApM - Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute Str. Def. - Significant Strike Defence (the % of opponents strikes that did not land) TD Avg. - Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes TD Acc. - Takedown Accuracy TD Def. - Takedown Defense (the % of opponents TD attempts that did not land) Sub. Avg. - Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes Justin Gaethje SLpM: 7.74 Str. Acc.: 59% SApM: 8.37 Str. Def: 54% TD Avg.: 0.00 TD Acc.: 0% TD Def.: 80% Sub. Avg.: 0.0
I think Gaetje matches up well and is a big chance of beating Khabib,who needs a few decent wins before attempting to retire as 1 of the best of all time. A closer inspection off Khabibs impressive unbeaten record, shows half of those fighters he beat were scrubs and the rest of his wins except for probably 3 guys, were middle of the road at best fighters and i think Khabib is there for the taking in this upcoming fight or next year. 1 guy i have felt for a while who was capable was Brian Ortega, and am even more certain of it ,after seeing Ortega 2.0 on weekend who looked way better then he had against Holloway, easily beating Korean Zombie with much improved and calculated striking. Think Ortega is massive chance to beat Volkanovski for the title next and really hoping rumours are true about this next title defense being in australia as would love to watch live
But those 3 guys were the best in the division besides Tony. You can make the same argument against Justin, he beat tony, and his next big win is Barboza and Cerone. Against Championship fighters he is 1-2.As far as we know it, the tony win isnt that impressive, tony hadn't beat any of the top division fighters like conor or Poirier. I don't know about Ortega, he's got a guillotine choking chance against a guy that escapes them constantly.
My pick is Khabib because I have no real idea how good Gaethje's wrestling really is as I've never seen him wrestle in any of his fights. He was a div 1 ncaa wrestler so he should have good wrestling skills so it does make it a compelling fight. If Gaethje can keep the fight on the feet and/or get up to his feet during the fight then he can win as his standup is levels above Khabib's. I say Khabib points but I would love to see Gaethje win and will be supporting him.
Worthless stat. He hasnt faced any legit wrestlers. Johnson is decent but hes more of a boxer puncher. Eddie has a 36% TD success rate. Hes always been a great defensive wrestler but Eddie has never been that good offensively. Even 145er Pat Curran shut down all his TD attempts back in Bellator. Pettis who notoriously struggles VS wrestlers got up from his attempts easily and he couldnt keep Giblert down for more than a couple seconds. Anyone that thinks Gaethje has a chance should watch his Firmino fight. He was down 0-2 and saved by a doctor's stoppage He struggled alot there and Firmino is the guy who closely matches Khabibs style by far that hes fought since. It was a long time ago but Brian Cobb had him back mounted and in serious trouble too. Khabib TKO4 (GNP)
All of his ufc fights have been stand up brawls from what I can remember. By the end of rd 1 this weekend we should have our answer on his wrestling.
Khabib beats him easy he needs to move up to test himself . White should be pushing for Khabib Usman after this , who is left at 155 really ?
There is more experts picking against Khabib then probably every other 1 of his fights put together for a very good reason which will become more obvious early on this fight and while can guarantee Khabib will likely get him down several times,he won't be able to keep him down for long periods and he won't be able to wear him down like he has others he has faced,not that he would have been able to tire Gaetje out and i dont see his stand up bothering him much either. Wouldn't be surprised with Khabib winning on points but little chance of TKO imo
Wouldn't be surprised if this happens. But would be a bit even less surprised if Khabib can keep it against the fence and on the floor for 5 rds to win a decision.
like Barboza destroyed Khabibs legs? Barboza landed several insane calf kicks and Khabib wasn't even blinking
